Saturday, January 20, 2007

Bleah

I have to be on planes or in airports pretty much all day tomorrow. I hate flying--not because I'm afraid of it, but because of the lack of space, the stale air, the crappy food, and frustrated travelers who lack common courtesy (As in "Hello? Don't you see my knees are already jammed in the back of your seat? Please don't recline.")

I'm headed to a conference with a big emphasis on educational technology. I'm excited to jump into the fray and see what's new in my new field, but I'm also worried about the potential blah-ness of the presentations.

See, last week I decided to look around the internets to see what folks are presenting at ed-tech-themed conferences, and a lot of it, at least based on their PowerPoint presentations (which have waaaaaay too much text, by the way) seems to be, well, common sense. And I'm worried that I'm heading to a conference, on which my employer is spending oodles of dough, where I'll be bored out of my mind and have nothing terribly new to report that my supervisors, who have decades more experience in tech than I do, don't already know. I'm supposed to present my findings at the next big staff meeting, so I really, really need to come back with something novel.

Of course I'll head into the conference with a cheery demeanor, but I wish I hadn't looked up all those presentations. So dreadful.

The good news is I'm going to Atlanta for the first time--in fact, my first time in the southeastern U.S. (excepting Virginia, if you consider it to be in the South). The bad news? I won't be able to see much of the city because (a) I'm on my employer's dime, so I need to attend as many sessions as possible, (b) it will be raining, which will probably curtail my desire to explore the city, and (c) I don't really know anyone who's going to the conference, so I'm going to be woman-on-her-own-in-a-strange-city.

So, to recap:

- I hate plane travel.- I was looking forward to the conference, but now I have some fears and doubts.- I'm going to miss Lucas and Mr. Trillwing terribly.

But: I will get to sleep in a bit on Monday morning because the conference doesn't begin until midday. And if by chance I wake up early sans jet lag, I will explore a bit of downtown Atlanta, dammit. If you know of anything I can do safely on my own after 6 p.m. (including vegetarian-friendly restaurants) Sunday-Monday-Tuesday or before noon on Monday, please leave them in the comments.

4 comments:

Last time I was in Atlanta was a conference in 2001. My wife was pregnant with #1. I found a nice Iranian goods shop in the mall attached to our hotel, and bought a set of three hand-woven placemats and a table cloth. The saleswoman thought it was odd I'd buy a set of three. I explained my reasoning, since my family would soon number three. And now... wish I had bought four.

I think it rained that November too. Didn't get to see much of the city. Enjoy it.

I lived in Atlanta for many years. Downtown doesn't have much to offer. See if you can find your way to the Midtown area, in particular the Virginia Highlands neighborhood. Very cute and friendly area, with lots of coffeeshops and little stores and pretty old houses.

Have fun in Atlanta! I heartily share your frustrations with flying, and especially with inconsiderate passengers who recline their seats (while their long hair hangs over said seat and onto my tray, while wearing invasive perfume...).

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About Me

Mom, Ph.D., clutterer, setting off on the tenure track in public history. My own interests trend toward museum studies, American studies, historic architecture and preservation, material culture, and women in science. I live with a gregarious and funny 5-year-old boy and a Cliffordesque puppy, and I'm married to the best husband and father in the whole world. I really don't deserve that distinction, but I selfishly keep him all to myself.